Worst Nightmare
by dnachemlia
Summary: A young woman on the street accuses McGee of a horrible crime...and it all goes downhill from there. Written for the NCIS Titular Challenge, Part 2. Please head the warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Worst Nightmare**

Written for the NCIS Titular Part 2 Challenges

Rating: Strong FR15/T

Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault. This one gets pretty dark, folks.

Characters: The MCRT team, set in season 11; Vance, Fornell, OCs.

Summary: A young woman on the street accuses McGee of a horrible crime...and it all goes downhill from there.

 _Disclaimer_ : All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended. The original characters and places mentioned are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to those living, dead, or undead is completely coincidental.

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Chapter 1

"We'll meet you back at the car, McGee."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Tim watched as Tony and Gibbs stepped through the door into yet another office in the building they'd been canvassing before he and Ellie headed for their own next stop. He knocked on the nondescript door of the office on the opposite side of the hall and waited. After several moments and no answer he knocked again before turning to Ellie.

"Looks like they're closed."

"Well, it _is_ a Sunday. No big surprise there."

"Some people do come in to get a headstart on the work week."

"And for some the work week never ends."

Tim chuckled. "Trust me, you get used to it. Ready to go?"

"Definitely."

Tim followed her back to the lobby and through the exterior doors out into the bright sunlight. It was a beautiful spring day, and Tim had been looking forward to spending it relaxing in the park. That was, of course, before they'd gotten a call out that morning.

"There's any chance we'll get next weekend off?" Ellie asked as they walked toward the sedan parked a block away.

"Big plans?"

"No, just... I think we could all use a break."

"And you'd like to be able to spend a little time with your husband?"

She gave him an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, just a bit."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and close this case out quickly."

"Maybe."

They passed an outdoor cafe and Tim took an appreciative sniff. It had been awhile since he'd had a sit-down meal. Maybe he'd treat himself on the way home. He smiled at the idea before his thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice behind him.

" _Oh my God, that's him!"_

Tim's shoulders stiffened and he turned, expecting some comment about his alter-ego role as a novelist. To his surprise he saw a young woman staring at him, her eyes wide with horror.

"It _is_ you. You...you _bastard_! You _raped_ me!"

Tim froze, uncomprehending. " _What?"_

The woman started screaming at him, bringing the attention of a group of men just leaving the cafe. Before he even understood what was happening they had surrounded him and were staring at him menacingly. He looked around for Ellie and saw that she was standing a few yards away, a shocked expression on her face. One of the men followed Tim's gaze and grabbed him, spinning him away from Ellie and towards the other two men in the group.

"No, wait, there's been a mis-"

A flash of excruciating pain hit him in a place no man ever wants to feel such a thing and he fell to his knees, momentarily unable to breathe or think. Before he could draw a breath another burst of pain raced up his spine and his field of vision narrowed alarmingly. He struggled to fight off the attack but another blow across the back of his head caused him to collapse to the ground. Desperately he tried to defend himself, curling inward to protect his vital organs from the unrelenting assault to his body and legs. He could hear someone screaming and vaguely wondered who else was in trouble before a final blow sent him into the darkness.

XXX

"Well that was a bust," Tony remarked as he and Gibbs left the building. Gibbs merely grunted in reply and they started walking towards the car. "Guess we'll half to put the geeks to work when we get back to the office." This time Gibbs paused to give him a glare. "Sorry."

As they approached the car Tony noticed a mob of people blocking the sidewalk, shouting at something that he couldn't see. Soon the sounds of someone screaming 'stop!' reached his ears and he glanced at Gibbs, his heart sinking when he recognized the voice.

"Ellie…"

The two men started to rush towards the mob, drawing their weapons as they ran. Several of the onlookers scattered at their approach and they were able to see a group of men kicking something on the ground. It didn't take long to realize it was a person, and only a second longer to comprehend who that person was.

" _Freeze! Federal agents_!" Tony shouted as he approached the men pummeling his partner. He saw Ellie a few yards away, her gun drawn and yelling at the men to stop while another woman screamed at them in encouragement.

"HEY!"

The men paused at Gibbs' shout and turned, finally noticing the weapons pointed at them. They slowly raised their hands and stepped away from the crumpled and bleeding form on the ground.

"On your knees! Hands behind your head, now!"

The men complied and Tony roughly cuffed the one closest to him before turning his attention to McGee.

"Oh, God. McGee? Tim, can you hear me?" McGee didn't move or make a sound as Tony checked for and found a very weak pulse. He immediately pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance as Gibbs and Ellie cuffed the other two men.

The woman who had been screaming began spitting epithets at the agents before she suddenly rushed towards McGee. Ellie moved to block her and she shoved Ellie, catching her off guard. In the ensuing scuffle the woman managed to wrench Ellie's gun from its holster and stepped back, pointing the gun at the agents before slowly moving it towards McGee.

"Stop!"

She paused and turned to look at Gibbs, now pointing his gun at her. Tears were streaming down her flushed face and she looked ready to collapse, the hand holding the gun trembling violently.

"Put the weapon down, or I _will_ shoot you!"

"Me?" She gasped, fury darkening her expression. "You should shoot _him_. Do you know what he did to me?"

Tony opened his mouth to retort but a glance from Gibbs silenced him. He felt a glint of hope for his partner when he heard the distant sounds of sirens approaching and prayed they wouldn't arrive too late as he watched the scene in front of him unfold.

"Put the weapon _down_."

After several agonizing moments the woman slowly lowered the weapon to the ground and stood up, hands raised. Two patrol officers had arrived and Gibbs nodded to the female officer, who carefully approached the woman and cuffed her before guiding her towards the patrol car. Gibbs then nodded to the other officer and he joined Ellie in guard duty for the three cuffed men as Gibbs crouched down next to his injured agent, skimming one hand lightly over McGee's battered face and head.

"Where in the hell is that ambulance?"

As if on cue, it screeched around the corner and rolled to a stop a few yards away. The paramedics jumped out and ran to get their kits before approaching the fallen agent.

"What happened?"

"They had him down on the ground and were kicking him when we got here," Tony replied as he struggled to contain his fury.

"Got it. Please step back and let us work."

Reluctantly Tony rose and followed Gibbs as he walked over to the three prisoners, barely resisting the urge to kick _them_.

"What happened?" Gibbs barked and two of the men flinched. The third glared at him defiantly.

"We're not saying anything without a lawyer."

"You're going to need one," Gibbs snapped. He motioned to Ellie and she reluctantly followed him to the waiting ambulance, the only place that afforded any privacy. Tony stood nearly, alternating his attention between the two agents and the paramedics currently working on McGee.

"What happened?"

Ellie bit her lip, looking like she was ready to cry. She took a few deep breaths before she found her voice.

"We were walking back to the car and that woman started yelling at McGee. She said… She said he raped her."

"That's impossible!" Tony exclaimed, causing Ellie to flinch.

"You think we don't know that, DiNozzo?"

"Right. What else did she say?"

"That was… That was pretty much it. Those men surrounded him and…" She winced. "The just started beating on him. I yelled at them to stop, but… I'm sorry, Gibbs, they wouldn't listen, and-"

"Next time just shoot them," Tony snapped.

"I actually considered it, but…" She bit her lip again and glanced towards McGee. "Is he going to be OK?"

Gibbs said nothing, which worried Tony even more, and the three of them watched the paramedics continue to work on their teammate. Finally they strapped him to a gurney and moved him towards the waiting ambulance.

"How is he?"

"Not good. Sorry, we've gotta move."

"Boss?" Tony asked, his gaze locked on their patient. Gibbs nodded and turned to the driver.

"Got room for a passenger?"

The driver glanced at Gibbs, then at Tony. "Yeah. Just stay out of the way. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

"Got it."

"Keep us updated."

"Will do, Boss." Tony climbed into the ambulance just ahead of the closing doors and moved to the passenger seat before belting himself in. He stared at the battered figure on the gurney and wondered how someone could have made such a terrible mistake...and if Tim was going to wind up paying the ultimate price for it.

TBC...

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A/N: Working on chapter 4 and it needs to be done by Sunday. I'll post a chapter per day until it's done.


	2. Chapter 2

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 2

Gibbs stood in the dimly lit, empty observation room, watching the group of people on the other side of the one-way mirror in Interrogation. The primary person of interest sat huddled in her chair, her knees drawn up so her feet were on the seat of the chair and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her face was hidden behind a curtain of hair.

On her left a young man, slightly older than the huddled figure, was speaking and gesticulating in an animated fashion to the third person in the room, a middle-aged woman with more than a hint of grey in her dark hair. She seemed to be listening but it was clear her focus was on the young woman seated between them.

The sound of a door opening drew Gibbs' attention away from the trio and to the two men that had just entered Observation.

"Bishop said we'd find you in here." Fornell offered Gibbs a sympathetic smile but Gibbs said nothing. Fornell raised the folder he held in his hand. "Got the test results back. We had to send them to an independent lab and put a rush on the order." He turned to Vance. "We'll send you the bill."

"You call 48 hours 'rush'?"

"Some of us have to work in real-world time, Gibbs." He opened the folder and drew out a sheet of paper which he then handed to Vance. "The perp's DNA from the SAE kit wasn't a match. McGee didn't rape that girl."

"You think I need a test to tell me that, Tobias?"

"No, but Metro does require proof," Vance replied. "As does I.A. and SecNav."

Before Gibbs could retort they heard the strident tones of Fornell's ring tone. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered.

"Fornell. What?" A look of disgust crossed his face. " _How_ many? Damn it. OK, thank you. Let me know if any more pop up." He ended the call and turned to Vance. "They entered the perp's profile into CODIS and got back multiple hits."

"His name?"

"Not in the database. The profiles were all from forensic cases. Bastard's a serial rapist. Five so far, and who knows how many more there could be. You know how bad the backlog for rape kits is in most places."

Gibbs nodded, an angry expression on his face as he turned back towards Interrogation. "Need to talk to her, Leon."

"Not sure that's a good idea, Gibbs."

"She instigated the assault of a federal agent, and personally assaulted another. She's not walking out of here."

"And you're too close to this case. Let me handle it," Fornell offered but Gibbs shook his head.

"My agents. My case."

"With the potential to become a complete nightmare if it's not handled correctly," Vance added.

"Already a nightmare, Leon. Especially for McGee."

Vance sighed. "Tread lightly, Gibbs. At least have Fornell take the lead."

"Planned on it."

Both agents left Observation and headed for the room next door. Before they entered, Fornell turned to Gibbs.

"You already knew how you were going to play this, didn't you?"

"Yep."

"Feel like letting me in on the plan?"

"As Leon said, you take the lead."

"He also said 'tread lightly'."

Gibbs just rolled his eyes and opened the door, allowing Fornell to enter first. The young woman raised her head to stare at them, her eyes widening slightly in fear as Gibbs stepped into the room and closed the door. He leaned against the far wall and silently returned her gaze, his face expressionless.

"Anna Hayes?" He asked as he sat in the chair opposite the young woman and she nodded warily. "I'm Special Agent Tobias Fornell, FBI. You've been advised of your rights?" Before she could reply the young man jumped to his feet.

"She shouldn't have been arrested in the first place! My sister-"

"-assaulted one federal agent and attempted to shoot another."

"Who _raped_ her!" The man seethed, not noticing the woman flinch at his statement. "There's no way-."

"Sit _down_ , Robert," the older woman softly commanded. "Let's see what this gentleman has to say." Robert dropped back into his seat, glaring daggers at the woman as he did so. She ignored him and turned to Fornell. "Muriel Hodge. Anna's advocate...and lawyer, if need be."

Fornell nodded and turned his attention to the younger woman. "Ms. Hayes, do you understand why you are here?" She nodded. Fornell opened the folder and extracted a photograph which he placed in front of her. She glanced at it, flinched, and looked away. Fornell glanced at Gibbs, who still wore the same non-expression, before returning his attention to the interrogation.

"Two days ago you encountered this man and accused him of being the man who attacked you." She managed to meet his gaze and nodded. "And as a result of that accusation he was severely beaten by three men. He almost died as a result."

"Should have let them finish the job," Robert muttered, earning him a glare from Gibbs. Fornell ignored him and continued.

"I checked into the report you filed, and at the time of your assault, he was here, at NCIS, in full view of three other agents."

Robert huffed in disbelief. "You cops will always cover for each other. Doesn't mean a damn thing."

Again, Fornell ignored his outburst and continued. "I had Metro's lab send your sexual assault exam kit to a private lab for expedited processing. No one from my agency or NCIS had any part of the chain of custody. We got the results back." He pulled a sheet of paper from the folder and set in on the table next to the picture. "The DNA from the perpetrator was _not_ a match to Special Agent McGee."

"Someone mixed up the samples," Robert declared, loudly. "My sister says he was the one who raped her, and-"

"Robert, would you please _shut up!_ "

The room fell silent except for the sounds of Anna's harsh breathing as she glared at her brother, tears streaming down her face. After a few moments, Robert cleared his throat and began to speak in a much softer voice.

"Anna, I-"

"Just get out. _Please._ "

Gibbs turned towards the mirror and nodded, and a few second later the door to Interrogation opened to reveal an NCIS agent.

"Come with me, sir."

Robert appeared to be ready to protest again but one look from his sister's advocate stopped him.

"I'm sorry…"

Anna buried her face in her hands and he sighed before silently following the agent out of the room. Once the door was closed Fornell turned to Gibbs, who nodded again and silently joined him at the table.

"How are you planning to proceed?"

"Are you speaking as her advocate or her lawyer, Ms. Hodge?"

"Both."

"Psychiatric assessment. Treatment as an inpatient based on the results of the evaluation. In exchange for her testimony, the charge for inciting the attack will be dropped. She'll still face the assault charge and unlawful weapon possession charge, but we'll recommend the minimum for those, with time served in a psychiatric care facility."

"Extenuating circumstances will be considered?"

"Yes."

"What does all of that mean?" Anna asked in a shaky voice.

"It means they want to help you," Muriel replied, her surprise clear.

"But why?"

"Because you were a victim," Gibbs replied. "And because right now you're the best chance we have for catching the bastard responsible. You also weren't his only victim, Anna."

"You mean...Agent McGee?"

"I mean the other women he has attacked. And he'll do it again if we don't stop him."

Anna sucked in a shaky breath and turned to the older woman, who returned her gaze and nodded.

"We'll want the plea bargain in writing."

"You'll have the paperwork by the end of the day," Fornell assured her.

"Alright. Answer their questions, Anna. I will stop this if I think you're causing undue harm to my client."

"Agreed." Fornell exchanged a look with Gibbs before leaving the room.

"Tell me what happened."

"I went out to a club with my friends. Tryptich. If you're under 21 they give you a hand stamp that doesn't wash off easily, so I wasn't drinking alcohol that night." She glanced up at Gibbs. "Not that I, uh…"

"You weren't drinking. Go on."

"I didn't take drinks from anyone except the bartender. I know better than that. I kept an eye on my drink at all times, just like you're supposed to do, but… It was probably close to midnight when I started to feel a little funny. I was dancing with this guy…" She glanced at McGee's picture. "He seemed really nice, very attentive." She laughed ruefully. "Probably too attentive, right? I told him I needed to get some air and he followed me outside." She paled visibly. "He convinced me to take a walk with him...I was so stupid…"

"Anna, what happened to you was not your fault. We've discussed this."

She turned to Muriel, who gave her an understanding smile. After a moment she took another deep breath and returned her attention to Gibbs.

"We walked a couple of blocks to the city park. It was...darker than I expected. I told him-he said his name was Patrick- I told him I wasn't comfortable there and I wanted to go back to the club. He said I needed to be ready for 'adventure'. I told him I didn't want that. I _told_ him...and he…" Her voice cracked on the last word and she buried her face in her hands again.

Gibbs remained silent for several minutes, giving the young woman some time to pull herself together. He already knew the rest of the story, and it never failed to make his blood boil.

Finally he spoke to her in a gentle voice as he tapped the picture on the table.

"You indicated he looks like my agent. How are they different?"

"He, uh…" She forced herself to finally study the picture. "His eyes are set a little closer together. Hairline is a little lower. Cheekbones are a little more prominent. His upper lip is a little bit fuller." She looked up at Gibbs. "I can see the differences now, but when I saw… When I saw Agent McGee I really did think it was him, I swear!"

"Could you work with a sketch artist?"

"I did. When I reported the... It wasn't a very good likeness."

"We'll get someone better."

She raised her head to look at him. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Not too many years ago I had another young woman, just about your age, sitting here. Lots of circumstantial evidence that showed she was guilty of murder." He tapped McGee's picture. "Her brother convinced me to take a closer look, and we found that she had been drugged, and was _almost_ a victim of rape." He shook his head. "Sometimes we do have to look beyond the surface, and I think because of that experience... _he_ would want to help you, too."

"Even after what I did to him?" A tear slipped down her cheek. "Is he going to be OK?"

Gibbs was silent for a moment before replying. "They don't know yet."

"Oh, God…"

"The men that attacked your agent, what will happen to them?"

The expression on Gibbs's face made it very clear what he thought about those men.

"They're not getting a deal."

Muriel nodded. "Good. No one in my organization condones that sort of violence, I assure you."

Gibbs just nodded and rose from his seat. "I'll send in the sketch artist as as soon as possible." He left the room and returned to Observation where Vance and Fornell waited.

"That 'light' enough for you, Leon?"

"It'll do. Maxwell will be here in twenty minutes. Hopefully we can get something for a BOLO."

"We'll need all the tapes from the cameras around the club, too."

"Already requested by Metro. They'll have them sent over."

"I'll let you know if any more cases pop up in CODIS," Fornell added. He watched the two women for a moment. "How much time do you think she'll get?"

"Probably not long enough," Gibbs remarked, the ' _to heal'_ remaining unspoken.

"I take you'll be wanting to question the three men next?" Vance asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Give me a couple of hours. And Gibbs?" He raised an eyebrow. "No need to tread lightly with them."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Good."

XXX

After Maxwell finished his sketch and Gibbs had a BOLO sent out he returned to the bullpen. Both desks across from his own were empty, and Gibbs winced when he contemplated just how long one of the desk could remained unoccupied.

The only other resident of the bullpen looked up as he entered the area but said nothing as she watched him sit at his desk and start to go through the paperwork for the case. After a few minutes he sensed her standing in front of his desk but didn't look up as he spoke.

"Something on your mind, Bishop?"

"Have you heard anything...has Tony called? About Tim?"

"No change." Gibbs didn't want to admit how much it pained him to relay that McGee was still in a coma, a condition caused by a depressed skull fracture inflicted by one of his assailants.

"What about… What about the DNA tests? They cleared him, right?" Gibbs sent her a ' _what do you think?'_ look and she blushed. "Sorry."

"Is there a reason you're not at your desk, working on the case?"

She remained silent and he looked up. She had her badge and ID in her hands, holding them out towards Gibbs.

"I screwed up. You don't need to say it. I _know_ I screwed up. I didn't have McGee's back and...I froze, Gibbs. All of my training, everything I've read just went out the window and…It made it clear that I don't belong on your team."

Gibbs stood but made no move to take the items from her. "Yeah, you screwed up. It happens to all of us. It _has_ happened to all of us. And if I didn't think you belonged on the team I never would have put you on it." He tilted his head towards her desk. "One more thing: like I told the last person to sit at that desk, the next time you hand me your badge you better be prepared to lose it. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir...uh, Gibbs."

He stared at her until she returned her badge and ID to their proper places. "Moore, Travers, and Batavia are being brought to Interrogation-"

"Together? Doesn't that break...right. They're being brought to Interrogation."

"Stay with them and make sure they don't talk to each other until I get there. Then go relieve Tony and tell Abby we need her to go over the video footage from the night of Hayes' assault."

"You want me to go to the hospital where Tim is…?"

"Well, yeah, Bishop, unless you think you're going to find Tony and Abby somewhere else."

"Right, got it, so… I'll be in Interrogation." She scurried off and Gibbs sank into his chair as he rubbed a hand over his face and eyes that hadn't seen nearly enough sleep in the last 48 hours. After sitting in silence for a few minutes he turned to his notes and began to prepare for the next step in the case: making sure the men who had nearly killed his agent were going to pay.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 3

Ellie put her car in park and killed the engine, her gaze on the multi-storied grey edifice across the street. She hated hospitals, really _really_ hated them. If it had been anyone other than Gibbs that had told her to go to this particular hospital she would have…

No.

She deserved to be here. This was her punishment for failing her teammate. It was certainly mild in comparison to what her inaction had cost him, right?

Despite Gibbs' declaration, she still questioned her status with the team. How would Tony and Abby react to her presence? And could they ever forgive her?

Ellie sighed and climbed out of the car. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and started walking towards the entrance. As she approached the front doors a group of people noticed her approach and with a sinking feeling she recognized some of them as members of one of the news crews that had been at the scene.

"Agent Bishop! What is the status of the suspect?"

"How does it feel, knowing you work with a-"

"No comment!" She snapped and pushed past them and into the interior of the hospital. She knew better than to talk to the press, but their questions made her seriously want to tell them off. How anyone could even _think_ that about Tim…

She stalked to the information desk and showed her badge before requesting to see McGee. The nurse eyed her suspiciously and Ellie worked to cool her lingering anger. After a few moments she managed to give the receptionist a polite smile and made her request again. The woman directed her to the elevator and informed her that the ICU was on the fifth floor. With a nod of thanks, Ellie hurried to the silver door and pressed the up arrow. To her relief the doors opened almost immediately and she stepped inside.

When she arrived at the ICU she was directed to a room at the end of the hallway and as she walked towards it she felt a faint tightening sensation in her chest. Fear. She was afraid of what she would see when she entered McGee's room, and she dreaded the response that Tony and Abby would have to her presence. She paused a few yards from the room to collect herself before advancing to the room and stepping through the doorway.

And stared in horror at the patient within.

If she hadn't been told that this was McGee, and if she hadn't seen Tony and Abby sitting quietly by his bed, she never would have believed that this was her teammate. McGee was so battered that he was unrecognizable, and instead of the happy, healthy man who had been gently teasing her on their walk back to the car, he now looked like what he in fact was: a victim who had nearly been beaten to death.

Her involuntary gasp drew Tony and Abby's attention away from McGee and they turned to stare at her. Tony had dark circles under his eyes and two day's worth of beard growth on his face, but he looked younger somehow, more vulnerable. Abby, on the older hand seemed to have aged. She wore no makeup and was paler than usual, her eyes red-rimmed.

Ellie saw a flash of anger cross Tony's face before he turned back to his partner. It was Abby who finally broke the silence.

"Why are you here?"

Abby's voice was flat, with none of her normal bubbly exuberance. She didn't smile, but she didn't display the anger Ellie had seen in Tony's reaction to her presence, either.

"Gibbs sent me to relieve Tony so he can go home and get some real sleep. Gibbs also said he needs you to review the security tapes from the night of Anna Hayes' rape." Abby's eyes narrowed and Ellie hurried to continue. "We have a new artist's sketch for comparison. McGee was cleared, of course. The DNA didn't match."

"You think we need a test to tell us that?" Tony muttered, his face still in profile. "And I'm not leaving until we're ready to interrogate those bastards that did this to Tim."

"Gibbs is interrogating them now," she replied and mentally kicked herself when she saw Tony's reaction: he jumped to his feet and ran out the door without a backward glance.

"Tony, wait!" She started to run after him but stopped when she realized he was unlikely to listen to her. _Gibbs really is going to kill me this time._ She returned to the room where Abby still sat, watching McGee. Ellie sat in the chair that Tony had vacated and sighed.

"He's never going to forgive me, is he?"

"He will. Once Tim is better, he'll forget how worried he was and everything thing will go back to normal," Abby assured her, and Ellie suspected she was trying to reassure herself as well.

" _Will_ Tim get better?"

"He already is. The intracranial pressure is down to almost normal levels and they think they'll be able to remove the drains in the next day or two."

"But what about…" She pointed to the ventilator forcing air in and out of his lungs through the tracheotomy tube they'd been forced to use.

Abby's expression crumpled for just a few seconds before she regained control. "They're giving him at least another 48 hours, and then they'll give him a spontaneous breathing test. Once he passes that they'll remove the vent."

"And if he doesn't pass?" Abby's lip quivered. "Abby?"

She drew in a deep breath. "McGee has a living will. If he doesn't start breathing on his own after the test…" Her voice cracked and she shook her head. "He'll pass it. He _has_ to."

Ellie nodded, understanding what Abby couldn't bring herself to say: if Tim couldn't breathe on his own, they would have to let him die.

"This isn't right," Ellie murmured, mostly to herself. "He didn't do anything." She sighed. " _I_ didn't do anything. When they first started in on him, I was so shocked, I couldn't...I yelled for help, but no one...and then I yelled at them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. I couldn't shoot, I was afraid I'd hit Tim, or a bystander, but...they wouldn't stop. Not until Gibbs…" The tears that had been threatening to fall or the past two days started to track down her cheeks. She bowed her head, ashamed, and scrubbed at her face to try and erase the signs of her weakness.

After several moments she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Abby who gave her a small yet sympathetic smile. "You're not the one who hurt him."

"I didn't help him, either."

"But you will. You found what Gibbs asked you to find, right?" Ellie nodded. "Good." Abby stood. "And now I'm going to go help find the bastard that started this whole thing."

Ellie finally managed a small smile of her own. "OK."

Abby bent down and very gently kissed Tim's cheek. "Keep fighting, Timmy. We're not going to lose you. Gibbs doesn't give you permission to give up, and I don't either." There was no response from the unconscious man, but just hearing those words made Ellie feel just a bit better.

"Go get him, Abby."

"Oh, I will." She left and Ellie scooted forward on her chair so she was looking directly at Tim's bruised and battered face.

"McGee...Tim. I really hope you can hear me. I just wanted to say...you're a good person, Tim. You didn't deserve any of this and I...I really hope you're going to be OK." She lightly brushed one finger down his cheek. "I really, really do."

XXX

After he had given Bishop the order to leave, Gibbs entered Interrogation and sat at the table, ignoring the voices raised in protest as he stared at the group in silence. The lawyers for the three men were the loudest, while two of the men also complained about their treatment. The third man remained silent, staring back at Gibbs with a hint of smugness in his expression. Gibbs was looking forward to wiping that look off of his face once and for all.

He listened for a good twenty minutes and, finally tiring of the tirade, Gibbs slammed his fist on the table, making everyone else in the room jump. After seeing his expression the lawyers seemed to sense that this was the time to listen to him and they returned to the chairs behind their respective clients.

Gibbs opened the folder he had brought with him and removed the first picture, which he placed on the table facing the group.

"The man you assaulted two days ago: Special Agent Timothy McGee." He took in the shocked expressions on two of the men's faces. "You're being charged with attempted murder of a federal agent. You're never going to see the light of day again."

"He's a rapist," Batavia snapped in indignant and righteous fury, quickly recovering from his surprise. " _He_ should have never-"

"-have been accused in the first place. DNA test cleared him. _He_ is innocent."

"My client clearly believed…" One look from Gibbs silenced Batavia's lawyer and his client shifted uneasily in his seat. Gibbs took out a second picture and Batavia winced when Gibbs placed it on the table next to the first.

"You broke his jaw, nose, and cheekbone." He placed a third picture on the table. "Broke four of his ribs. Two went through his lung." A fourth picture. "Fractured and dislocated his right kneecap." Gibbs turned to glare at Moore before placing a fifth picture on the table. "And you broke his both his arms and his right foot. The bruises match your shoe prints from where you stomped on him." Gibbs added another picture. "Bruised kidneys." Another picture. "Ruptured spleen and internal bleeding." Another picture. "Bruises over seventy-five percent of his body."

Both men now looked suitably horrified by what they'd done, but still Batavia tried to protest.

"We were acting on what that woman said. We-"

"Decided to be judge, jury, and executioner. Agent McGee is still in critical condition. If he doesn't survive, I will do _everything_ in my power to make sure you pay."

"No jury would convict them," Moore's lawyer retorted. "Their intent was heroic-"

"There was _nothing_ heroic about this!" Gibbs yelled. "Your client nearly beat a man to death based on the words of a stranger on the street." He turned to Batavia's lawyer. "So did yours."

Travers' lawyer cleared his throat. "I can't help but notice you seem to have left my client out of this conversation."

Gibbs chuckled humorlessly. "And I'm sure he hasn't told you why I would."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Travers replied, but Gibbs saw a brief flash of fear in the man's eyes although the smug smile remained.

"Funny. Your sister tried to B.S. us, too. When Agent McGee arrested _her_." The smile vanished. "You did fail to mention that to your lawyer, didn't you?"

"Agent Gibbs, I need some time to speak to my client-"

"Yeah, I bet you do." He pulled the last two pictures out of the folder and set them on the table. Both of the other men looked like they were going to be sick when they saw the first of those two pictures, but Gibbs almost immediately placed the second one on top. "Especially since _this_ is the injury that could potentially kill my agent. And your client inflicted it. _His_ attack on McGee was premeditated."

"What are you talking about?" Moore's lawyer asked as both Moore and Batavia stared at Travers in anger.

Gibbs pulled sheaf of papers from the folder. "Madison Travers. She set up a young woman, Sarah McGee, to be raped as payback for some stuff she wrote. A Navy sailor was murdered in the process." Gibbs passed the papers to Moore's lawyer. "Madison did time, and her brother here was looking for revenge. He's been stalking Agent McGee. All the proof we need, it's in there." He glared at Travers, who shifted uncomfortably. "You used Anna Hayes as an excuse to do what you were planning to do all along." He tilted his head toward Moore and Batavia without breaking eye contact. "And you got them to help you."

Moore turned to Gibbs. "I didn't know anything about that!" He glanced at Batavia, who nodded emphatically. "We want a deal!"

Gibbs gave him a cold smile. "I don't make deals."

He rose from his chair and leaned into Travers' personal space. "And if my agent _does_ die, I will personally be there when they stick the needle in your arm." He turned towards the mirror and nodded, and almost immediately the door opened to admit three agents who handcuffed the three men and led them, protesting loudly, from the room. A brief, satisfied smile crossed Gibbs' face when he caught Travers' expression just before he was led away. It disappeared quickly as he left Interrogation and met Vance in the hall.

"Problem, Leon?"

"Agent DiNozzo is downstairs. I understand he's highly irate that you didn't wait for him."

"And he had orders to go home."

"Not that you really expected him to follow them."

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "Nope. He give the guards any trouble?"

"No more than expected. Do you want me to-?"

"I'll handle it. Travers?"

"Like you said, we don't deal. Maximum sentence...regardless of the final charge."

"And the other two?"

"Felony assault, maximum sentence as well."

"Getting soft on me, Leon?"

"Just doing what's best for the agency. And Special Agent McGee. He'll never have to face them in court...no matter what." He studied Gibbs for a moment. "Any change in his condition?"

"I'm sure I'll find out from DiNozzo."

"I'm sure you will."

Gibbs headed for the bullpen, only to be confronted by Tony as soon as he walked into view.

"Gibbs, what in the _hell?_ You-"

"My office. Now."

He started walking towards the elevator and after a few steps he sensed that Tony was following him. Once they were both inside and the doors had closed he flipped the switch and turned to his senior agent. Tony was livid.

"I should have been there when you interrogated those bastards!" Tony ranted as Gibbs slowly shook his head.

"Could _you_ have trusted yourself to be in there?"

"I…" Tony's shoulders sagged. "No. Not really. But-"

"And you won't do McGee any favors by punching the guys that attacked him. It's finished. They'll never see the light of day."

"They better not," Tony muttered. "But I should have… Damn it."

"Nothing you could have done would have changed anything." Gibbs expression softened slightly. "How's McGee?"

Tony sighed. "Still in a coma. They…" His expression crumpled for a brief moment before he regained control. "They're talking about pulling the damn plug on him!"

"When?"

"A couple more days. His doctors want to give him the best chance, but… What if it's not enough? I've already lost… I don't want to lose another partner."

Gibbs nodded in understanding. "You won't. McGee won't let you down."

"Not sure how much choice he has, Gibbs."

"He has enough." The two men stared at each other for several moments before Tony finally nodded.

"OK."

"Go home, Tony. You're no good to any of us, especially McGee, if you're not able to give a hundred percent. You need sleep in order to do that."

"Not sure that I can sleep."

"Go see Ducky, then. But do it."

"Yes, Boss."

Gibbs flipped the switch and when the doors opened he left Tony in the elevator. After making sure he stayed until the doors closed, Gibbs walked to his desk and sat down with a sigh. There was work to do, but he needed his team, _most_ of his team back in order to do that.

In the meantime, all he could do was wait.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 4

Gibbs stepped off of the elevator and started walking towards the ICU to visit his agent for what he sincerely hoped would not be the last time. McGee's doctors had given him as much time as they possibly could before attempting the test that would determine if he would be able to breathe on his own, but that morning they had informed his family that they really couldn't put it off any longer, and they in turn had informed the team.

When he arrived at the waiting room, he wasn't surprised to find Tony and Abby already there, the worry that Gibbs himself was feeling but couldn't show plain on their faces. He also wasn't surprised that Bishop was _not_ there. He knew she was spending every waking moment trying to find the man responsible for what had happened to McGee.

The person that Gibbs _was_ surprised to see was sitting in the far corner of the room, away from his team. The man still had the bearing of his rank, but the illness that had forced his retirement was more than evident in his appearance. After a glance at his team, and a brief nod of acknowledgement from Tony, Gibbs walked over and took the seat next to the only present member of McGee's family.

"Admiral."

"Gibbs."

The man remained silent for several moments before letting out a deep sigh.

"I guess you're surprised to see me here." Gibbs turned to the man, his eyebrows raised, but remained silent. "Never thought I'd be here, either. Never expected...Tim to get hurt like this."

"None of us did, Admiral."

John McGee shook his head. "I know you don't think I respect my son, Gibbs. Hell, I haven't given you any reason to think I do, but...I know he's a good man." He snorted softly. "A better man than I ever was. He didn't...he doesn't deserve this. Any of it."

"No, he doesn't."

"Then how the hell did this happen? I've heard the scuttlebutt, and the 'official report' your director made, but it doesn't make any damn sense."

Gibbs sighed. "The truth doesn't make much sense. Tim was mistaken for someone else. Some men decided that someone needed a beating, and your son was caught in the middle."

"You and I both know there's more to it than that."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter right now. It's being handled."

"And the men that did this to Tim?"

"They're going to pay."

"Good."

Before the Admiral could ask another question he was distracted by a pair of women who walked out of Tim's room. Penny Langston was supporting the other woman who looked like an older version of Sarah McGee. The woman glanced at the group in the waiting room and after her gaze fell on the Admiral she straightened and marched toward the elevator, but Gibbs could see the evidence of tears on her cheeks. Penny gave her son a sympathetic look before approaching Gibbs, who stood to greet her.

"Ms. Langston."

"Agent Gibbs. Thank you for coming. It will mean a lot to my grandson that you're here."

"How is he?"

"The doctors tell me he's showing signs of increased consciousness. They expect him to pass the test without complications but as to when he'll wake up, they're less certain."

"He'll wake up."

She gave him a faint, humorless smile. "Why? Because you don't give him permission _not_ to wake up?"

"No, ma'am. Because he's stronger than most people give him credit for." He noticed the Admiral shift uncomfortably but didn't say anything to him.

"You're not telling me anything I don't know, Agent Gibbs." She sent her son a pointed look. "But I appreciate your confidence in my grandson." After a quick glance down the hall she gave him a weary smile. "I should go check on Mary."

"She's not going to stay?" John asked, and Penny's eyebrows raised slightly at his tone.

"She said what she needed to say to Timothy, and she trusts Timothy to do what's best. For him."

John said nothing, but Gibbs sensed there was much more he wanted to say, and it was part of a very old argument. Penny gazed at him for several moments before she returned her attention to Gibbs.

"Dr. Mallard is speaking to Timothy's doctors, and as soon as they are finished they will determine if Timothy can breathe on his own. I'm not sure how much longer he can delay them, so…"

"Understood." She gave him a slight smile and started to walk towards the elevators. Gibbs glanced at Tony, meeting his gaze for just a moment, and the senior agent nodded. He guided Abby to her feet and the two of them headed off to Tim's room. The Admiral remained silent until they were out of sight.

"I never wanted him to be in law enforcement, much less NCIS." John sighed. "He's too much like his mother. Got more from her than just his appearance." Gibbs turned to him, eyebrow raised, and John huffed softly. "Mary is Sarah's mother, not Tim's. Mary raised him from the time he was three, and he calls her 'Mom', but he never really knew his real mother. She...died when he was a toddler."

"What happened?"

John sighed again. "Karen was a police officer, from a long line of them. We met when she was a patrol officer in Annapolis, while I was at the Academy." He chuckled softly. "I know I don't look like the sort of person to believe in all that 'love at first sight' crap, but...it was. We were married as soon as I finished at the Academy, with the understanding that she could stay in her career. She was as dedicated to it as...a Navy officer is to the Navy."

Gibbs nodded silently. He knew the Admiral's record, and wasn't all that surprised that Tim's mother would be as tenacious as her husband...or her son.

"A few years later Timothy was born, and I thought… I thought she'd finally be willing to leave her job and settle down." He snorted softly. "I think my mother may have had some influence, but when Timothy was eighteen months old Karen decided she wasn't meant to be a stay-at-home mother. We argued… Our first major argument, and finally we compromised. She had a desk job with one of the smaller districts. Even with that, she was happy." He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to hide the fact that his eyes were wet. "Six months later, she was gone. Some bastard walked into the station one morning and opened fire. She died sitting at her desk, where she was supposed to be safe." One trembling hand curled into a fist. "She was eight weeks pregnant."

Gibbs winced. He was gaining a greater understanding of the man that had shaped his agent, but there were still some things he needed to know.

"Does Tim know what happened?"

John started to shake his head but paused. "He might. I never told him, and he never mentioned it to me, but I'm sure he got curious at some point, especially when he found out that the woman he thought was his mother isn't. Kind of hard to hide that where the name on the birth certificate didn't match. Tim hates being lied to, and that…" John chuckled. "He has his mother's temper, too. Saw that again a few years later when he joined your team." He glanced at Gibbs. "I knew your reputation, Gibbs, even back then. Told him he was throwing his life away. He...he actually hung up on me. We didn't speak for…"

"Seven years."

"Guess you heard that story, then. That when you decided that I didn't respect anything my son does?" Gibbs' eyebrows rose. "You're not the only one with inside sources."

"Guess not."

"I know I was hard on Tim while he was growing up, pushing him to be like me instead of his mother. To go into the Navy where I've been...well, except for the last year of Vietnam, I've been relatively safe. And I know my son is smart. I thought he could go so far, but… He got his mother's stubborn streak, too."

"Not just his mother's, I'm guessing."

John chuckled. "No, you're right. He gets that from both sides. Wish I had recognized that sooner." He turned to Gibbs. "Doesn't excuse my actions, I know. I just hope...I hope he gets the chance to hear me say that."

"He will. Tim's not a quitter. I've may not have known him his whole life, but over the past ten years...he's turned into a man that _I_ respect. Not just because he's smart. 'Heart of a lion', that's how DiNozzo described him once, and it fits."

"I hope you're right, Gibbs."

Gibbs didn't reply and they sat in silence until they saw Ducky approaching with two doctors and a rather severe-looking woman in a conservative dark grey suit. Both men stood as the group reached them.

"Jethro, Admiral, I've spoken with Timothy's doctors. They believe that nothing can be gained by delaying the test any longer." He glanced at the woman standing silently to his left. "Ms. Cartwright concurs."

"What right does she have to determine when they kill my son?"

Ducky flinched slightly at the Admiral's tone but the woman was unfazed, and Gibbs got the impression that she'd heard worse.

"I am the patient advocate representing Agent McGee. I am simply here to make sure his wishes are honored." She turned to the doctors. "Shall we proceed?"

The elder of the two, Dr. Khanna, disappeared into McGee's room and a few moments later his most recent visitors emerged. Abby's face was streaked with tears and Tony looked as though he had lost his best friend.

"Boss, are you...can you be with him when…?"

"We both will," declared the Admiral and when the second doctor started to protest that only family was allowed, a glare from John McGee silenced him.

Gibbs bit back a smile and followed the doctor and the Admiral to Tim's room but his humor faded when he saw his agent. Tim's bruises were fading, having reached the purple-green- yellow stage. His face was no longer swollen but he still looked so fragile that for a moment Gibbs almost doubted his own assurances that Tim would survive all of this after all.

Dr. Khanna had finished his examination and turned to the rest of the group. "His scores are improving. I am confident that he will pass this test. Are we ready?"

"Give me a moment," John murmured. Dr. Khanna nodded and stepped back. John rested his fingers on the least-bruised part of Tim's face and stood silently for several moments, his eyes closed. Finally he leaned down and whispered in Tim's ear. "I am sorry Tim. Please give me a chance to earn your forgiveness." He straightened, nodded to Gibbs and switched places with him.

Gibbs rested his own fingers against Tim's cheek and leaned down to speak softly to his agent. "You already know what I'm going to say, Tim. You know what you don't have permission to do." He saw a faint twitch under Tim's eyelids and smiled. "That's it, Tim. You fight this."

John wrapped his fingers around the tips of Tim's fingers that were protruding from the cast on his right arm. He gave them a gentle squeeze and smiled when there was a weak response.

"OK. Let's do this."

Dr. Fields joined Dr. Khanna on his other side. "Alright. We're going to disconnect the pressurized system from his tracheotomy tube and replace it with straight oxygen. If he begins to breathe on his own, the extra oxygen will be necessary due to his damaged lung, but the machine will not be breathing for him. Is that clear?" His attention turned to the doorway where the advocate and Ducky waited. Both nodded. "Good." The two doctors worked together to perform the task and Gibbs watched Tim's chest closely as the switch was made. When the pressure was turned off Tim's chest fell, and there was a few moments of stillness before it slowly rose and fell on its own in a weak but steady rhythm. Gibbs let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned to the Admiral. John's eyes were wet but he was smiling for the first time since they had entered the hospital.

"That's it, son. You...you did good."

Gibbs noticed another twitch under Tim's eyelids but other than his steady breathing he was still.

"The patient has spontaneous respiration," Dr. Fields announced and turned towards the advocate again. She nodded and handed him a clipboard. He and Dr. Khanna quickly signed the attached paper and, after giving them a slight smile, she turned and left. The Doctors performed a few more checks and then left, motioning for Ducky to enter the room.

"When will he wake up, Duck?"

Ducky performed his own quick check as he considered the question. "I can't say with any certainty _exactly_ when but I imagine, if his GCS scores continue to improve as they have, then it should be within the next few days."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"We will know better when he _does_ wake up, Admiral. We won't know the level of cognitive damage, if there is indeed any, until that happens."

"What sort of damage?"

"At the very least I expect some memory loss. Most patients with head injuries won't remember the incident that lead to the injury. I imagine he will be slow to regain some basic skills, but unless the damage is greater than we expect, he _will_ regain them."

"So he'll get back to normal?"

Ducky sighed. "There's a possibility that he will, but nevertheless it will be a long and arduous journey. His other injuries need to heal as well, and those will take several weeks at least. He's going to need a lot of help and support, that _is_ certain."

"He'll get it," both men replied in unison and Ducky smiled.

"Of that, gentlemen, I have no doubt whatsoever."

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I'm going out of town for the day, so I'm posting this chapter now. To the guest that asked: yes, this story is being posted on multiple sites (on NFA for a challenge, as well as here and AO3).


	5. Chapter 5

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 5

After hearing the news that Tim was breathing on his own and being told to take the remainder of the weekend off, Tony had spent most of that free time at the hospital with McGee. Since he was still in the ICU visitors were limited, and Tony had shared the two visitor spaces with Gibbs, Abby, Ducky, or a member of McGee's family.

When his companion had been one of the team, he had done most of the talking as they tried to coax Tim back into the waking world, but when Tim's family had been present Tony had mostly remained silent. Penny had talked to him as well as her grandson, sharing stories from when he was young. None had been particularly embarrassing, as if she were aware that Tim might be able to hear and wanted to spare him that discomfort.

Mary had been a little stiff with Tony at first, but soon she had accepted his presence and he had listened to her read to her son from his favorite book. Tony hadn't been too interested in the story itself but her soft narration had stirred pleasant memories of his own mother and he had appreciated the experience in spite of himself.

Sarah had only been to visit once and she hadn't stayed long, the sight of her bruised and battered brother lying so still in a hospital bed too much for her to take for an extended period of time.

Tony hadn't joined the Admiral during his single visit, as the older man seemed to prefer Gibbs' company. Tony had spent those two hours talking to Abby and Penny in the waiting room, each trying to cheer the rest up as they talked about how they would prepare for Tim's homecoming, once he was awake and mobile again.

The doctors had assured Tony that McGee was showing signs of waking up, and that he needed to be patient, but the waiting had been difficult. Finally Gibbs decided that Tony needed something to take his mind off of his partner's situation and had ordered him to come in to work on Monday to start doing what he could to find the serial rapist that had started the whole thing.

Gibbs met him in the parking lot that morning and handed Tony a stack of folders to read as Gibbs drove to the home address of the first identified victim. Tony found her file and skimmed through it, frowning at both the description of the perpetrator and the thinness of the file itself.

"Boss, this report, it's…"

"Gotta start somewhere, DiNozzo."

"Right."

After an hour they arrived at a small bungalow at the end of a cul-de-sac. The property was well maintained, but the security windows, signs warning against trespassing and solicitation, and another for the security system gave it a clear 'strangers unwelcome' vibe.

Tony saw the curtains shift slightly as he and Gibbs approached the front door. They stopped a few feet from the small set of steps leading to it and carefully extracted their IDs before moving forward. Tony rang the doorbell and they waited for several moments before a voice called out from behind the closed door.

"What do you want?"

"Kara Danvers?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo, NCIS. We'd like to talk to you."

They heard a lock turn and the door opened slightly, stopped by a short chain across the opening.

"Let me see your ID."

Half of a face appeared behind the gap, with one brown eye nervously flicking back and forth as Gibbs and Tony held up their badges and identification cards for inspection. After a few moments the door closed and they heard the chain being released before the door opened again, this time widely enough to show the occupants entire face. It was a young woman, probably in her early twenties, with long straight hair the same shade as her eyes.

"What does the Navy want with me?"

"We found a connection between the case we're working and your case, Ms. Danvers."

Her eyes narrowed. "My case. You mean someone is actually going to investigate?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am. What do you need to know?"

"May we come in?"

"No. I don't trust cops, no matter who they work for."

"OK. We think we may have a lead on the man who assaulted you."

"Who _raped_ me, you mean. Not that the D.C. cops believed me."

"They took your statement and you were examined. The evidence was analyzed."

" _When_ was it analyzed? I called but they would never tell me anything."

Tony checked the file. "The DNA profile was entered into CODIS six months ago."

She snorted. "Two and a half years too late, then."

"We got a hit. A connection to another case. Several other cases."

"That bastard has been out there...hurting other women for three years and you're just getting to it _now?_ " They remained silent. "So who is he?"

"We don't have a name, but we have a description. We were hoping to get your help in correcting that."

She stared at them in silence, clearly trying to decide whether or not they were telling the truth. Finally she let out a frustrated sigh.

"What do you have?"

"We have another victim who mistook someone else for the man who attacked her." Tony carefully pulled McGee's picture from the folder and showed it to her.

"It's not him," she replied after taking a look at the picture.

"Yes, we know, but the perpetrator looks something like him."

"No, it doesn't even look like him." She looked at the picture again and paused. "Well, the face, maybe, but the hair and eyes are wrong. Dark brown hair, chin length, and brown eyes." She looked at Tony. "He was your height and build...maybe a few pounds lighter." Tony winced slightly as he pulled out the black and white sketch that Anna Hayes had helped to provide. "What about this one?"

Kara flinched and closed her eyes for a moment before meeting Tony's gaze. "That's the bastard."

"Had you ever seen him before the night you were...raped?"

"No. It was my first time at that club and I didn't know him. He told me his name was Patrick, but I never got a last name. He mentioned being Irish on his mother's side, and German on his father's."

"Accent?"

"American. Nothing really obvious. He sounded well educated...rich."

"Any jewelry, a class ring or something like that?"

"No rings. He was wearing a necklace. Silver chain with a flat pendant, circular...I don't remember any writing on it, just a bunch of circles and curved lines. It wasn't anything familiar."

"Anything else you can tell us? Things he said or asked about?"

She considered the question. "He said he wanted to take me on an adventure." A flash of pain crossed her face. "I told him I wasn't interested, but…"

"We understand."

"I highly _doubt_ that," she snapped. "Is there anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Gibbs held out a business card. "If there's anything else you can remember…"

She stared at the card, making no move to open the door and take it. "Will you let me know if you catch him?"

"We will."

"Good." She shut the door and they heard the locks being turned again. Gibbs stuck his card in the outer screen door and they headed back to the car.

"Well that was kind of a bust," Tony remarked as the headed back towards the highway. "Same first name given, but if he changed his appearance…"

"Gonna be harder to track him down. More information, better to narrow the search."

"Right," Tony replied as he thought to himself, _this is gonna be a long day…_

XXX

It was well past the end of the work day when Tony and Gibbs made it back to the Yard. Gibbs went down to the lab to check in with Abby while Tony headed up to the bullpen. When the elevator arrived at the correct floor he stepped off and headed for his desk, stopping at the sight that met his eyes. It looked like a file cabinet had exploded, with papers covering nearly every surface. In the center of the chaos sat Ellie, laptop resting on her knees and a bag of chips at her side. One of many that had been consumed over the course of her project, judging by the overflowing trash can next to her desk.

"What are you doing?"

She looked up at him and Tony winced. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair, pulled into a messy ponytail, looked like it hadn't been cared for in days. Her shirt and jeans had grease stains and there was a scattering of crumbs on both.

"Patterns, Tony, I'm looking for patterns. It's what I do...the only thing I can do." She gestured at the messy stacks of papers on the floor and desks. "I haven't found them yet, but I will…"

Tony sighed. It was time for and intervention. He gently plucked the laptop from her knees and set it on her desk before offering her a hand. She reluctantly took it and he hauled her to her feet, catching an unpleasant whiff in the process.

"Do you have your go bag?"

"Yes, but-"

"Grab it. Gym. Shower. Go."

"But-"

"You need a break...and a shower. Get cleaned up and we'll go see McGee."

A startled look crossed her face. "Is he awake?"

"Not yet, but he's getting there. Go on. I'll wait."

She retrieved her bag from under her desk and headed for the shower while Tony tried to make some sense of what she had been doing. Unfortunately he couldn't make heads or tails of it so he carefully stacked the papers and moved them off of the floor to clear a path. By the time he finished Ellie returned, dressed in clean clothes with her still-damp hair pulled into a tight ponytail at the base of her neck.

"You ready?"

She nodded and followed Tony to the elevator. The trip to the parking lot was silent and after they were in the car and headed to the hospital she finally spoke.

"I'm surprised you're still even speaking to me."

"You're part of the team. Of course I'm speaking to you." He heard a soft, rueful laugh.

"I didn't expect you to still consider me part of the team."

"Look, Ellie. You screwed up. You know you screwed up, but we've all been there."

"That's what Gibbs said."

"He is the boss. You should listen to him. And yeah, I'm mad at you, but you didn't do it on purpose...and I'd be willing to bet you'd never do it again. Am I right?" She nodded vigorously. "Good."

"Do you think… Do you think McGee will forgive me?"

"One thing that McGee is good at is forgiving people. I don't think he'll make an exception for you."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm the senior agent. I'm always right...Probie." He flashed her a grin and she managed a weak smile in return. They remained silent the rest of the way and when they arrived she followed him to McGee's room. Ducky and Penny were sitting with him and they both turned and smiled when they saw the two agents in the doorway.

"Ah, Anthony, Eleanor. Penelope and I were just discussing you."

"Knew my ears were burning for a reason, Ducky," Tony replied with a grin. "How is he?"

"He opened his eyes a couple of times, but that's all...so far." Penny gently squeezed his fingers. "He's getting there. Maybe a certain Very Special Agent can convince him to make it all the way back to consciousness."

"I'll do my best."

"Good. Donald and I are going to try and find something edible in the cafeteria. Can we get you anything?"

"I'm good. Ellie?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Thank you, Mrs. Langston."

"Call me Penny. Come along, Donald. Let's allow these kids some quality time with Timothy."

Ducky just nodded and followed her out into the hallway, giving Ellie and Tony's shoulders each a squeeze as he passed.

"Hey there, McSleeping Beauty." Tony walked up to his friend's bed and gently wrapped his hand around Tim's fingers. "Look who's here. Our new Probie needs you to wake up and tell her you're going to be OK."

Tim's fingers contracted slightly beneath Tony's hand and he grinned. "That's it, Tim. Rise and shine." His grin broadened when he saw Tim's forehead crinkle in response and his eyes twitched beneath the lids. "Come on, let's see those baby greens."

"Come on Tim, you can do it."

Slowly Tim's eyelids began to open and after several attempts they opened all the way to reveal glazed, bloodshot eyes. Those eyes began to move from side to side but McGee didn't seem to be able to focus his gaze on either of the people leaning over him.

"Tim? Can you hear me?"

A puzzled look appeared on his face and his lips started to move. His eyes widened and a panicked expression appeared on his face. His fingers tightened on Tony's as he blinked several times and his eyes flicked back and forth in obvious terror.

"Easy, Tim, easy. You're OK. It's me, Tony." The heart monitor started to beep rapidly as Tim tried to sit up, pain flooding his face as he did so.

"Calm down, Tim, You're OK. You're safe! Look at me!"

His eyes were rolling wildly in their sockets as the sound of running feet approached.

"What happened?"

"I don't know! He woke up, and…"

"Step out and let us work."

Tony and Ellie backed away as the doctors and nurses swarmed around Tim's bed, working to calm his galloping heartbeat. Tony caught one last glimpse of Tim's face and he knew from his expression that if his partner could have made any sound at all, he would have been screaming…

XXX

He could hear voices…

Time passed. The darkness remained but the silence was broken by voices and other, unfamiliar sounds. Some of the voices he knew. Some he did not. Some were confusing. Others were comforting. But one thing was constant and that was when the darkness seemed to be a little less, he could hear voices.

They asked him questions. They offered encouragement. He was never really sure what they were asking him, exactly, or what words of comfort they offered but he could tell by the tone of those voices.

Sometimes he even wished he could answer.

 _Can you hear me?_

 _Squeeze me hand…_

 _Come on...open your eyes...you can do it…_

 _ **I'm...trying…**_

 _Rise and shine...let's see those baby greens…_

 _Come on, Tim, open your eyes...you can do it..._

With Herculean effort he managed to comply with the request, finally opening his eyes to see who has asked so much of him.

He saw nothing but darkness.

 _Tim? Can you hear me?_

 _ **I...know that voice...where…**_

He tried to find the source but there was nothing. No familiar face. Just darkness. He felt the panic starting to rise as he moved his gaze back and forth. He tried to call out, to ask for help, but when he tried to speak his jaw wouldn't move, it was locked in place, and no sound emerged from his throat.

 _Easy, Tim, easy. You're OK. It's me, Tony._

He could hear a beeping. It got faster and faster, but he couldn't identify the source of any of the sounds that assaulted his hearing.

 _Calm down, Tim, You're OK. You're safe! Look at me!_

He tried to move and his body erupted in pain. He could feel things forcing him down, holding him in place, and try as he might he couldn't fight them.

 _ **Help me... I can't move...I can't talk...**_

 _What happened?_

 _I don't know! He woke up, and…_

 _Step out and let us work._

He felt hands on him and more pain. He tried to cry for help, to beg someone to stop his torment.

 _ **Help me!**_

And as the pain faded and a deeper darkness crept in, he had one last, terrifying thought.

 _ **I can't see…**_

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 6

"What happened?"

Tony pulled his gaze from the activity in Tim's room and turned to see Ducky and Penny approaching, worried expressions on their faces.

"I don't know, Ducky. Tim, he… We thought he was waking up, so we kept talking to him. He opened his eyes and then he just...freaked out. I don't even think he knew we were there."

Before Ducky could respond the door to Tim's room opened and a group of nurses pushed his bed through the door. Tim was limp and still, and his skin had a greyish tinge to it beneath the still fading bruises. Tony only got a brief look at his partner before the group hurried down the hall towards the elevator.

"What happened?" Penny repeated, this time addressing the doctor.

"We're taking him for some tests. He was extremely agitated and his heart rate was dangerously high so we had to sedate him." He turned to Tony. "What initiated this?"

"I don't know," Tony repeated. "He woke up and...he panicked. What's wrong with him?"

The doctor, whose ID card gave his name as Dr. Alden, considered his question and gave Tony a sympathetic smile. "Try to see things from Agent McGee's perspective: he's been in a coma for more than a week. No doubt when he _did_ regain consciousness he was confused and disoriented. His broken jaw is wired shut and he has a tracheotomy tube, so he can't talk. His left arm is immobilized and his right is in a heavy cast, and it's almost certain he's too weak to move it. That, and the pain from his broken ribs and resulting collapsed lung…"

"It's no wonder he was upset," Ducky finished for him. He studied the other doctor's expression. "But there's something else."

"Hence the need for tests, Dr. Mallard. I'll let you know as soon as we know." Dr. Alden hurried off, leaving the stunned group behind.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait, then," Penny remarked as she put on a brave face. She turned to Ellie, who was standing against the wall with one arm crossed over her stomach and the other over her mouth. "Are you alright, Eleanor?" She shook her head, turned and ran towards the nearest restroom. Penny just shook her own head and after a look and a nod to Ducky she followed.

"What _could_ be wrong with him, Ducky?"

"I think it's best to wait for the results, Anthony. Let's not borrow trouble."

"Fine." He found a chair and sat down, his elbows on his knees. After a few minutes he breathed out a confession. "I just want him to get better, Ducky. We need him. He…" Tony chuckled. "He keeps me from going crazier than usual."

Ducky patted his shoulder. "I understand. Timothy is a stable presence in your life. You need that, especially since this past summer."

"I think I've needed it longer than that."

Ducky smiled. "I don't doubt it."

At the sound of footsteps they looked up to see that Penny had returned with Ellie in tow. Tim's grandmother had her arm over the younger woman's shoulders as she guided her to a chair and sat down next to her. Finally Ellie raised her head and looked at Tony.

"I'm sorry."

After a brief nod from Ducky, Tony rose and walked over to sit in the chair on her other side. "I know, Ellie."

She started to get up, only to be held in place by Penny. "I should be back at the Yard. I need-"

"You need to let it go. We talked about this."

She nodded and settled back in her chair to wait. After an hour the elevator doors opened to reveal Gibbs and Abby, who paled when she saw the group in the waiting area.

"What happened? Is Tim okay?"

"They've taken him down to the diagnostics section for some tests."

"That doesn't sound good, Duck."

"He woke up and was quite distressed. It's merely a precaution."

"He's awake?" Abby grinned. "That's good, right?"

"It's a positive sign."

Abby studied their expressions. "So why aren't you happy about it?"

"Because, unfortunately, it wasn't a pleasant experience for him," Penny replied.

"Poor Timmy. I guess I can understand that though, considering…"

"How long are these tests gonna take?"

"I don't know, Jethro, since they did not tell me what tests they needed to perform. My guess would be a CT scan and an EEG, or perhaps an MRI. We will just have to wait for the results, I'm afraid."

"I hate waiting."

"Yes, we know."

Gibbs paced. Abby tried to talk to both Tony and Ellie but neither gave more than single word responses to her questions. Ducky and Penny quietly sat in the corner of the waiting area, holding each other's hands. The minutes, then hours passed until finally Dr. Alden returned. His eyebrows rose in surprise at the additions to the group.

"Is Tim OK?" Tony and Abby asked in unison.

"We're keeping watch on him in Recovery for the time being, but we should be able to return him to his room in the morning."

"Recovery? What happened?"

"We detected a minor hemorrhage in his frontal lobe. It has stopped bleeding on its own but the resultant swelling was putting pressure on his optic nerves. We've given him medication to counteract the swelling and if that works as expected the pressure will be reduced and function should return."

Tony noticed the alarmed look on Penny's face and it took him a moment to realize what the doctor had implied.

"Wait. His optic nerves aren't functioning? Are you tell us he's _blind_?" Ellie gasped and a soft sob escaped Abby's throat.

"We believe it will be temporary. The scans showed no other damage or atrophy. We won't know for certain until he's awake and coherent, but the signs are promising."

"Thank you, Dr. Alden." He nodded and headed back down the hallway as Ducky addressed the rest of the group. "I suggest we all go home and get some sleep. We won't be able to sit with Timothy for the rest of the night."

"Boss?"

"Duck's right, Tony. Go home, get some sleep. You, too, Ellie. I don't want to see either of you at the Yard until after 0800. Clear?"

Ellie nodded without looking up and Tony stared at Gibbs for several moments before nodding as well. "Yes, Boss."

"We can take Eleanor home," Penny offered as she guided Ellie to her feet and the two of them headed for the elevator with Ducky following behind.

"I'll go with Tony," Abby declared. She took his hand and guided him towards the elevator as well.

"You coming, Boss?"

Gibbs stared at Tim's empty room for a few moments before he answered.

"Yeah, Tony. Let's go."

XXX

Gibbs walked into the bullpen, fresh cup of coffee in hand, and checked his watch. He had fifteen minutes before Tony and Ellie would show up, which gave him just enough time to head down to Abby's lab and get the results of the tests she had started last night before they had gone to the hospital. He had called to check on Tim before he had left for work and the doctors told him that Tim was back in his room but they were keeping him sedated to give the medicine time to work. The Admiral was already with him, so at least he wouldn't be completely alone.

"What do ya got for me, Abbs?" he asked as he walked into the lab. She was standing in front of her computer, _Caf-Pow!_ Within easy reach as her fingers flew across the keyboard. She paused and turned to him with a determined look on her face.

"We're going to find this guy, Gibbs. We have to." She took of sip of her drink to recharge before continuing. "I got the results back on the toxicology samples from five of the victims. I found traces of triazolam in their systems. It's a tranquilizer sold under them name Halcion."

"Anna Hayes said she didn't leave her drink unattended. The others said the same thing. How did it get into their system?"

"I also found minor traces DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide."

"Needleless injection."

"Very good, Gibbs. You've been paying attention. DMSO will carry anything dissolved in it through the skin and into the bloodstream. Nasty stuff."

"So he put it on something they touched."

"Most likely. I've been trying to track triazolam prescriptions and cross-referencing them with the name 'Patrick' but so far no luck. It's a relatively popular drug for treating insomnia." She tapped a few more keys and turned to her lab table, stacked with sealed Sexual Assault Exam kits. "Ellie put out a notice that were were looking for similar cases. Metro, Maryland State Police and Virginia State Police sent us the untested kits from the cases they found."

"That's a lot of kits."

"I know, and probably...well, hopefully...I mean...I don't think all of these are from the same perp, but...it's kind of depressing that there are so many." Gibbs nodded. "But at least these will all go in the database and hopefully we'll catch them, too. Or somebody will. I have them sorted from most likely to least likely, and I'm going to start on the 'most likely' pile right now." She pulled out a clipboard and started making notations. Gibbs watched her work for a moment before he headed back to the bullpen. He was not surprised to find it no-longer empty.

"What do we got?"

Ellie brought up a series of pictures on the plasma. "We identified six victims and two more popped up in the latest search. He definitely has a type: long brown hair and brown eyes. He also likes them young. The oldest was 20."

"He's picking underage girls at nightclubs where they have some sort of marker. He's targeting the ones who shouldn't be drinking," Tony added as his eyes flashed in anger.

"He's been slipping them a tranquilizer. Guess it doesn't mix too well with booze," Gibb replied.

"But how? The girls all said they didn't leave their drinks unattended."

"It was absorbed through the skin. He mixed it with DMSO."

"So something they touched," Ellie mused. "Did any of them mention what that could have been?"

"No, but we can ask."

"OK. I did find one thing in common with the attacks. They all happened on the night of the new moon."

"He made sure it would be as dark as possible."

"Either that or he's the anti-werewolf...thanks, Boss."

"Anything else?"

"He's never hit a club more than once, but all of the nightclubs were within two blocks of a Metro station. All of the attacks occurred before the last train of the night."

"Any common destinations?"

"No. Different lines, but usually where two or more were running together. Two on the Red, three on the Blue and Orange, three on the Green and Yellow."

"Any more recent cases?"

"No. The last new moon was three days ago. I checked to see if any rapes with the same M.O. were reported, but there weren't."

"That's because he escalated," a familiar voice interrupted and they turned to see Fornell and Vance descending the stairs to the bullpen. "He killed his latest victim. Just confirmed it this morning."

"How did he kill her?"

"She was strangled, Gibbs. There were signs that she fought back but it doesn't look like she got a piece of him."

"Damn it."

"I agree. My director has decided this is too big to let NCIS handle it-"

"It's _my_ case, Tobias."

Vance gave Fornell a look that clearly said _See? What did I tell you?_

Fornell huffed in annoyance. "To handle _alone_. We've been looking into it ever since the assault on McGee. Seems like a waste to have two agencies working on it independently."

"He has a point, Gibbs," Vance added. "If Ms. Sciuto identifies more victims, and she probably will, then we'll need all the help we can get...especially since you're down a team member."

"The more victims we can get identified, the more information we can get and I can start…" Ellie caught the looks Gibbs and Tony were giving her. "I mean, we can start putting it together and catch this guy."

"The problem is, I remember a bunch of other times we had to deal with the FBI, and it didn't end all that well," Tony snapped.

"Would you rather waste time with a pissing contest while another girl gets raped and possibly killed?"

"No."

"Good, that's settled. Gibbs?"

"Working _together_ , Tobias. That means you share information."

"And that goes for you as well."

"Fine. What we know, you'll know. _When_ we know it."

"Works for me. What do you have?"

Ellie and Tony repeated what they had told Gibbs and Fornell listened with a thoughtful look on his face. "Sounds like what we have as well. What are you thinking, Gibbs?"

"I'm thinking we have less than a month to catch this bastard."

"Agreed. I'll have our files sent over ASAP."

"Bishop?"

"I… I'll send out files to them as well."

"Get to work."

"Yes, Gibbs." She went to her desk and started typing. They watched her for a few moments but she didn't look up from her computer screen.

"DiNozzo, escort Agent Fornell to the lab so he can get an update from Abby."

"Make sure _I_ get those updates as well, Gibbs." Gibbs sent Vance a glare.

"You heard him, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss."

Soon Gibbs and Ellie were alone in the bullpen and Gibbs walked over to her desk.

"Something on your mind, Bishop?"

She stopped typing for a moment before meeting Gibbs' gaze. "I think I can help...like I did at the NSA."

"What do you mean?"

"I find patterns and I make predictions based on data and logic. If I'm right, and we get enough data...I might be able to figure out where his next attack is going to be."

"'Might' be able to?"

"Yes...within a certain set of probabilities. I was right about Parsa. I was good at what I did. Please let me try."

Gibbs studied her for several moments before he replied. "And you want the chance to take him down."

"I can do it, Gibbs. I won't let you, or anyone else on your team down again."

"It would be better if we could catch him before he attacks someone else."

"I realize that, but if we can't…"

Gibbs walked back to his desk and sat down, silently considering her request. He weighed the options and explored the scenarios for several minutes while Ellie quietly resumed typing, a nervous look on her face. Finally he sighed and returned his attention to the only other person in the bullpen.

"Tell me your plan."

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 7

Ducky leaned back in his chair, carefully removed his glasses and ran a rough hand over his face in a half-hearted attempt to wipe away some of the exhaustion he felt. It was just past midnight and he had sent Penny back to his townhouse to rest almost two hours ago. They had all been taking shifts staying with Timothy so that he would have a familiar presence when he did regain consciousness but thus far he had not opened his eyes.

Three days after his traumatic awakening, Tim's doctor had declared that the swelling around his optic nerves had decreased as hoped. After consulting with the rest of the medical team he had decided to reduce the sedatives so that Tim could start to wake up. Now, two days after that decision, Tim had shown some signs of increased awareness and they were all hoping that he would finally making his way back to the waking world.

Ducky shifted his position so he could study the man reclined on the hospital bed and was startled to see his eyes slowly start to open. He blinked and squinted, confusion creasing his brow. His fingers twitched and the confusion was almost immediately replaced by panic.

"Timothy." His gaze immediately moved towards Ducky's voice and as the older man rose from his chair to lean over him Tim followed the movement with his eyes until his gaze was locked on Ducky's face, the fear in the younger man's expression fading slightly.

"You can hear me, can't you?" His chin dipped slightly and he winced before his eyes widened and the panic returned. "It's alright, Timothy, you're safe." He gently rested his hand against Tim's face. "You're in the hospital because you've been badly injured, but you're going to be just fine, I promise." He saw a flash of relief before the fear returned. "Let me get your doctor, alright? Blink twice for yes if you understand me." Tim blinked twice, but the fearful, worried expression remained.

Ducky pressed the call button and soon a nurse appeared in the doorway. "Dr. Mallard, what's wrong?"

"Please summon Dr. Alden to let him know that Timothy is awake."

The nurse smiled. "Of course, Doctor."

After she left Ducky returned his attention to the injured agent. Tim was looking around the room, pausing to blink and squint his eyes several times.

"Timothy." He immediately looked at Ducky who decided to try a quick test. "I need you to answer some questions for me. Again, blink twice for yes, once for no. Do you understand?" Tim blinked twice. "Good. Do you remember me?" A brief flash of confusion crossed his face before Tim blinked twice. "Do you remember what happened to you?" One blink, and the fear resurfaced. "That alright lad, we didn't expect you to remember. One more question." He held up his hand with the first two fingers raised. "How many fingers?" He blinked twice and Ducky felt a surge of relief. "Wonderful. You're doing very well."

Tim's fingers twitched again and he managed to shift his right arm slightly. He looked down at both of his arms then back and back at Ducky, raising his eyebrows in an unspoken question. Before Ducky could answer him Dr. Alden appeared in the doorway. He quickly surveyed the scene in front of him before stepping into the room.

"Agent McGee, I'm Dr. Alden. They informed me that you'd woken up." Tim blinked twice and Dr. Alden smiled. "I take it that means 'yes'?" Tim blinked twice again. "Excellent. I need to perform a few tests, is that alright?" Two blinks. "Very good." He took a penlight out of his pocket and moved it back and forth in front of Tim's eyes, carefully watching the reaction. "Good. Now, follow my finger with just your eyes." He moved his index finger back and forth, then up and down in front of Tim's eyes and he followed the movement with almost no hesitation. "Very good. Tracking and pupillary contraction are normal." He removed a pen from his pocket and showed it to Tim. "I'm going to touch you in several places with the tip of this pen. When you feel the pressure, blink twice, OK?" Two more blinks. "Good."

After testing the feeling in Tim's feet and legs, all with positive reactions to each point of pressure, he moved up and tested the tips of each of Tim's fingers, blocking the pen from his sight. Tim's reaction was delayed a bit for two of the fingers on his left hand but Dr. Alden didn't seem to be too concerned, stating that it was to be expected given the injury Tim had sustained. Finally he finished his test and slipped the pen back in his pocket.

"Sense of touch is normal. Hearing appears to be normal as well. Agent McGee, do you mind if I call you Tim?" Tim blinked once. "OK, Tim, you are doing quite well given your injuries. Has Dr. Mallard explained them to you?" One blink. Ducky shot the doctor a warning look and he gave a brief nod of understanding. "Your jaw is fractured, as well as your left cheekbone, and your nose. You had significant damage to your face when you were brought in and due to that and the broken jaw we opted to use a tracheostomy to place you on a ventilator. You have four broken ribs, two of which separated and punctured your lung, which collapsed, and we needed to do surgery to correct that. Your ribs are healing well based on your last set of x-rays and your lung is healing nicely, so now that you are awake I will contact Dr. Khanna and he will be able to remove the tracheotomy tube."

Tim's eyes widened and he looked at Ducky with a worried expression. Ducky gently patted his face.

"It's alright, lad. It's a simple procedure. Once it heals, and your jaw is stable enough to be unwired you'll be able to speak again." Tim blinked twice and returned his attention to Dr. Alden.

"Your right radius was fractured, but it was a clean break that was easy to set and it, too is healing well. We should be able to switch over to a soft cast for it in three or four weeks. Your left arm, however, received a greater number of injuries, including a fracture of the proximal end of the ulna...in the elbow. There is also a hairline fracture in the distal end of the humerus and two fractures of the radius, as well as several fractured metacarpals in your left hand. You'll need to be in a hard cast for at least six to eight weeks."

Tim winced and blinked twice, signaling his understanding before his gaze drifted to his slightly elevated right leg. Dr. Alden noticed and continued.

"Last but not least, your right patella was dislocated and fractured, you sustained a hairline fracture to your proximal tibia as well as two fractures to your fibular. Three of the tarsals and four metatarsals in your right foot sustained pressure fractures. I'm afraid you're going to be immobile for a few more weeks, but we will get you up and moving as soon as we can."

After a few moments, Tim slowly blinked again twice and closed his eyes.

"Tim?"

He opened his eyes again and both men could see they were wet with tears.

"Timothy, it will be alright. Just give it time."

He gave Ducky a weak smile and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at his doctor. Dr. Alden nodded in understanding.

"Just one more question, Tim. How are your pain levels? One a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst."

Tim seemed to think about it for a few seconds before he started to blink. He blinked six times and then after a pause blinked once more before closing his eyes.

"Alright. We'll get you something to help with the pain. Try to get some rest, alright?" There was no response and the doctor lowered his voice. "Sleep is really the best thing for him right now, but he's doing quite well, considering…"

Ducky nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Dr. Alden." The man smiled and left before Ducky returned his attention to the agent, just in time to see a tear slip from beneath his closed lids and slide down his cheek. "Oh, Timothy. It will be alright. I promise." Another tear fell and he gently wiped it away. "It the pain worse than what you told Dr. Alden?" His head turned slightly to the side and back again. "I am sorry. You most certainly did not deserve what happened to you."

Tim opened his eyes and stared at Ducky. Pain, frustration, anger and worry boiled beneath the surface of those expressive eyes and Ducky could only squeeze his fingers in sympathy. Finally a nurse arrived to give him a dose of painkillers and after she left Tim's eyes slipped closed again, his body relaxing as he succumbed to the pull of Morpheus. Ducky watched him in silence as the minutes slowly ticked by. Finally he rose from his chair and left the room to go deliver the long awaited news to his team. Timothy was awake, aware, and healing.

It was a start.

XXX

Tony angrily a slammed his desk drawer and plopped his elbows on his desk before pillowing his head in his hands. Three weeks. Three _weeks_ of searching for this bastard, and they were no closer to finding him then they were when they started. They'd searched through hundreds of hours of video footage but had never caught more than a glimpse of the man who had terrorized at least fifteen women, with more being discovered every few days. He'd been pursuing his sick little hobby for at least five years, two more than originally thought, and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Tony raised his head to look at the desk across from his own and growled in frustration. Bishop had left a few hours ago to 'run an errand' and she hadn't yet returned. She'd been working as hard as the rest of them, Tony had to admit, but even with the extra hours she'd been pulling she hadn't been able to pin a name on their suspect. Now, if _McGee_ was here…

Tony glanced at the desk to his right and sighed. McGee wasn't here, and it didn't look like he would be here for the foreseeable future. He was getting better, Ducky had assured him, but the injuries he had would take months to heal. It would take even longer for him to be fit for duty, even desk duty. Tony hoped that they'd be able to catch the perp before McGee was cleared to return to work, but with the way things were going…

With another sigh Tony rested his forehead on his desk. What he really needed was to be able to talk to his partner, and to have the younger keep up his side of the discussion. He hadn't had a real conversation with Tim since before his attack, and nearly a month had passed since then. He had gone to visit Tim every day while he was in the hospital, first while he was still in a coma and then after he had regained consciousness (and his sight) but every time Tim had been asleep, or at least pretending to be.

Ducky had told them that Tim would need a lot of rest while he was recovering, but even after he had been moved to a rehabilitation facility last week he still seemed to always be sleeping. Then again, with their crazy schedule Tony was only able to stop by either really early or really late, so he supposed it was to be expected. Abby had reported a few brief, mostly one-sided conversations with him, as had Ducky and Jimmy, but the rest of the team was feeling a bit out of the loop.

Or maybe it was just him.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention and he looked up to see a girl with long brown hair walk past his desk. She was dressed for a night out on the town and he wondered for a moment how she had wound up in the bullpen, and why she didn't have an escort.

"May I help you?"

She froze for a few second before turning around to stare at him and it took him a moment to realize who it was.

"Bishop? What in the hell did you do to your hair?" She dropped her gaze and suddenly everything became clear. "Oh, no. Oh, _hell_ no!"

"Tony-"

"You are not putting yourself out there as bait, Bishop. It's not gonna happen!"

"Why, because I'll screw up? _Again_?"

He leaped from his chair in anger and she took a quick step back. "You do not have anything to prove-"

"But I'm the only one of us who fits his type. Or at least I do now."

"Yeah, and how are we supposed to know which club he's going to hit? We've never figured out a pattern-"

"-but _I_ did."

He stared at her in disbelief. "And you didn't bother to tell anyone?"

"I told Gibbs."

"What?"

"Rule number four, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied as he walked past Bishop to his desk. He turned to study her a moment and his mouth tilted up in a half-smile. "You'll do."

"Rule 4? What about Rule 15? Always work as a team!"

"Rule 18."

"Stop it. We had a plan, we were working on it, and-"

"Rule #20: always have a backup plan."

"This is your backup plan?"

"You have a better idea?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe one that doesn't put a teammate in danger! _Another_ teammate."

"Enough. Bishop, read him in."

"Right." She walked over and clicked the remote. An image of a map with a dozen red dots scattered over it filled the screen. "We know what clubs he's hit." She clicked the remote and another map appeared with a scattering of blue dots. "We know what clubs haven't been hit that fit his criteria. I studied the dates, the locations the victims." She clicked again and lines started appearing and disappearing between the dots. "I created an algorithm to compile the data and calculate the probabilities of any single club being his next target. It gave me three possibilities." Three green dots appeared on the screen and she pointed to the one furthest from the Yard. "I'm going to this one. The FBI has one agent that will be posted here." She pointed to the dot closest to the Yard. "And Metro will have one here." She pointed to the last dot. "Communication will be set up between all three groups. We'll be wearing hidden cameras and microphones. First sign of trouble, and the teams will move in. Statistically the probability of success-"

"How will you know it's him? He's had a different look every time."

She clicked the remote again and a series of pictures appeared. Each was a representation of what the witnesses had reported, with the different hair styles, facial hair, and eye color added to the sketch Anna Hayes had helped create. "We know his past looks." She clicked the remote one last time as a second series of sketches appeared. "And I've predicted his possible future disguises." She highlighted three. "These are the most likely."

Tony stared at the portraits, a sense of unease threatening to overwhelm him. "And what if you're wrong?"

"I was right about Parsa. I was right about a whole bunch of other scenarios that you don't know about, and probably never will because they're classified. I am good at this, Tony. It's what I do."

He turned to Gibbs. "And you're going along with this?"

"Again, do you have a better idea?"

"I...no. I don't. I wish to hell I did, but…Damn it." He sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Have my six, Tony. That's all I ask. And the rest should take care of itself, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, OK. I can do that. I hope you're right about this Bishop."

She gave him a weak smile. "Me, too."

TBC…

* * *

A/N: I made up Rule #20 ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Worst Nightmare

Chapter 8

Ellie stood in front of the restroom mirror, carefully adjusting the barrette that was holding a few strands of her hair back from her face. She snapped it closed and lowered her arms to get a clear look in the mirror at its position.

"How's that?"

" _Looks fine to me,"_ Tony's voice replied through the earwig. " _Now look up."_ She did. " _Look right. Look left. Look down and bounce around."_ She rolled her eyes and complied. " _Steady as a rock. Looking good, Bish."_

"Yeah, and you better not be trying to look down my dress."

" _I would never...thanks, Boss. We're ready to go."_

"I'll be out in a minute."

She did one last check of her makeup and outfit before she stood back and took a good look at her appearance. She stared for a moment and bit back a chuckle. After years of not being taken seriously due to her youthful appearance she was finally putting it to good use. She looked like the girls the rapist had picked as victims. She only hoped that she or one of the other women working undercover tonight would encounter him and put an end to his crimes once and for all.

After one last look she stepped out of the bathroom and walked out into the evidence garage where Gibbs and Tony waited.

"All set."

"Everything's ready in the van. We'll be five minutes behind you. Don't get into trouble before we get there."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

She carefully walked out to the car they had procured for her and climbed in the front driver's seat where she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before starting the engine and driving out of the lot towards her destination.

It took longer than expected to find a parking space and she was hurrying towards the front entrance just as she saw the surveillance van drive by. She stopped for a few seconds to catch her breath before continuing on.

Once she had presented her ID and received her underage hand stamp she slowly picked her way through the crowds to a dark corner of the club.

"Check," she whispered and immediately heard a response.

" _Loud and clear. Now get out there and find him."_

"On it."

The music was loud and she could feel the heavy bass beat in her chest as she headed out onto the dance floor. She was approached almost immediately by a young man who also had an underage stamp. He grinned at her and she joined him, dancing close to him for the rest of the song as she tried to blend in with the crowd. When the song ended she gave him a smile and moved off, glancing back to notice his disappointed expression.

" _And one heart broken already. Good going, Bishop."_

"Shut up," she muttered as she wove her way through the throng of people crowding the dance floor. Finally she made it to the bar and ordered a Coke, watching the bartender carefully as he grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with ice and then soda from the dispenser. He snapped a lid on it and handed it to her and she handed him a bill in return. She pretended to take a sip and slowly scanned the club for a familiar face.

" _This place is too crowded,"_ Tony's voice declared in her ear. " _You're never going to find him."_

"Night's still young," she whispered in reply and headed back out to the dance floor.

The hours passed and the crowd started to thin out as the clock wound down towards midnight. Bishop was just explaining to the fifth (or was it sixth?) guy that she wasn't looking for anything but a night of dancing when she heard a voice by her ear.

"That doesn't sound like much of an adventure."

It took everything she had not to freeze in place as every hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. She gave the man she had been talking to her brightest and most dismissive smile before she turned towards the speaker. She swallowed hard and managed to grin at him even though all of her senses were screaming at her to run.

He looked exactly like she had predicted.

Blonde, spiky hair. A thin goatee, a few shades darker than his hair. Brilliant green eyes, so much like Tim's that her heart skipped a beat. He was smiling back, almost shyly, but the look in his eyes belied that innocent expression.

"Adventure?" she managed to ask. "What kind of adventure?"

"The best kind."

"Sounds...like fun. I'm Ellie."

"Patrick. Nice to meet you, Ellie."

He took her hand and guided her out onto the dance floor as she tried to give the impression that she was following willingly. His hand felt strange, harder than she expected and it took her a few second to realize that there was a thin piece of plastic covering his palm.

 _The drug...absorbed by touch...oh, crap…_

They started to dance and each time she spun away from him she whispered a word or two, hoping Tony was getting the message.

"Drug...plastic...hand...touched…"

Finally she heard a response.

 _"Got it. Get him out of there as soon as you can."_

"Try…"

By the time the song ended she was starting to feel the effects of the drug. She stopped dancing and wiped a hand across her face.

"Sorry. I need to get some air."

"Would you like some company?"

"Maybe. If it's not going to, you know, spoil your fun."

"I'm sure it won't."

She felt a chill down her spine as she smiled and nodded. "OK."

"Here, follow me. I know a shortcut."

He took her hand again and led her towards the back of the club. They soon reached a door labeled 'emergency exit' and he pushed the handle, opening the door with a flourish.

"No alarm?"

"Nah. It's for looks, only."

"You, ah, you've worked here?"

"I've visited during my day job."

"Ah, OK."

"Come on, let's take a little stroll."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and escorted her down the street, away from the club. She prayed that Gibbs and Tony weren't far behind as the navigated the dark streets towards a local city park.

"You like it?" he asked as his grip tightened slightly.

"It's...kinda creepy, actually. I think I'd like to go back now."

"Oh. But you said you wanted adventure," he replied as he leaned in to kiss her on the mouth. She ducked her head and tried to pull away.

"Stop!"

"That's what they all say," he grinned as he pushed her to the ground. Before he could do anything else she heard the distinctive sound of a pistol being cocked.

"Freeze, dirtbag."

He stared down at her in disbelief. "You _bitch_!"

Suddenly he was on the ground next the her, face down, with one arm pulled up behind his back, a knee grinding into his spine and a gun pressed against his ear.

"Give me a reason," Tony growled as he leaned into him. The man let out a soft whimper but said nothing.

Ellie tried to climb to her feet and was surprised when a hand was offered to help her up. She grabbed it and Gibbs gently pulled her to her feet.

"Not bad, Bishop. Not bad at all."

She watched, slightly dazed as Tony none-too-gently cuffed the suspect and hauled him to his feet.

"You're under arrest," Tony recited. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if any of them are actually stupid enough to try and defend your sorry ass."

"DiNozzo…"

"Right. Sorry, Boss." He marched the man back towards the club, reciting the rest (and correct version) of the Miranda warning as he did so.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Just dizzy. Will probably take some time for the drug to wear off." She examined her hand. "They were worried about their drinks. They didn't even think about…" She looked up to watch the two men disappear around a corner. "Bastard."

Gibbs chuckled. "Got that right.. Come on. Duck's standing by. He'll take you to get checked out."

"No, I want to watch the interrogation, Gibbs."

"And here I thought you'd want to join in."

"Wait. You'd let me?"

"Uh-huh. _After_ you get checked out."

"Well, OK. What are we waiting for?" She took a step and stumbled, glad that Gibbs had good reflexes as he steadied her. "Right."

Gibbs chuckled again and gently started leading her back towards the street. "Come on, Bishop. Time to go home."

XXX

Tony paused outside Tim's room before carefully pushing the door open and stepping inside. Tim was on his bed with the end raised to a half-sitting position. He was wearing loose-fitting sweatpants with one leg slit up the outside to accommodate the brace on his leg and a hospital gown that was unsnapped on the opposite side, leaving his left arm-still in its immobilization cast-uncovered. He was holding a remote control limply in his right hand that was now free from the hard cast and his eyes were closed.

Tony quietly settled into the chair next to Tim's bed and turned his attention to the TV, wondering what Tim had been watching when he fell asleep. After a few minutes he discovered that it seemed to be a show about fishing, and a white-haired, deeply tanned man with a British accent was trying to catch some very nasty-looking aquatic creatures. Tony watched it for awhile as his mind wandered to the scene he had witnessed in Interrogation only an hour before.

Gibbs and Bishop had been in the room, questioning the perp who had finally been identified as one Darren Kirkpatrick, a delivery driver from Brandywine, Maryland. Knowing the game was up, Kirkpatrick had written a long, detailed confession while Gibbs and Bishop looked on. When asked _why_ he had committed his crimes, he had shrugged and informed them that it had just been a game, a contest to see how long he could get away with taking what he wanted from those unable to stop him. Tony knew from the straightening of Gibbs' shoulders that it was taking every ounce of self control the older man had not to strangle the rapist himself.

Another day's worth of paperwork had been completed to wrap up the case before Gibbs finally dismissed them at the end of the regular work day. Tony had gone home, showered, and changed into comfortable clothing before making the trip to the rehab center where Tim was slowly recovering.

"Are you really getting anything out of this, Tim?" Tony asked softly as he refocused on the small screen, not really expecting an answer from the sleeping man.

"Don't… swim… anywhere."

Tony snapped to attention at the sound of the soft, raspy voice and turned to see Tim watching him with slightly glazed eyes.

"McVanWinkle! You're actually awake!" Tony jumped up and after a moment's hesitation planted a kiss on Tim's temple. Tim winced in response.

"I really need… you not… to do that."

"Can't help it. I'm just glad to finally be here when you're not sleeping. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me." Tim just stared at him. "You weren't, were you?"

"No. You just have… bad timing."

"Well, blame Gibbs for that. Work and sleep are kinda at odds in his world."

"Yeah…"

"So tell me… are the nurses here hotter than in the hospital?"

" _You're_...avoiding. Like everyone… else."

"Avoiding what, McGee?"

"Telling me… what really happened… to me."

Tony's eyebrows crept up his forehead. "No one told you?" Tim shook his head. "What… What do you remember?"

"Nothing. Last thing… we were going to do interviews… on a Sunday. Everything between that… and waking up… with Ducky talking to me… is a complete blank."

"Damn…" Tony felt a surge of relief that McGee apparently _didn't_ remember waking up blind, but as for the rest...

"I know I had… some sort of head injury… even though Dr… Alden didn't mention it when I first… woke up. I asked him later. He said it was… a depressed skull… fracture."

"Yeah."

"But why? Wasn't an accident. Someone… would have mentioned that." He searched Tony's face for some indication that he was wrong. "Was it… a bomb?"

"No, Tim. It… It was an assault. Three men decided to beat the crap out of you."

A confused expression crossed Tim's face. "Why?"

"That's a long story."

Tim let out a soft, mirthless laugh. "Not going anywhere."

"No, I guess not. When are they springing you, anyway?"

"Stop avoiding… the question."

"Right. Sorry. Do you remember Madison Travers?"

Tim thought for a few moments before he replied. "She… tried to set Sarah up… to be… raped."

"Right. She went to jail. Her brother blamed you and he… organized your attack."

"But there's more. Isn't there?"

"Yeah, there is." Tony sighed and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Her brother had been stalking you, waiting for an opportunity. When you and Bishop were walking back to the car after the interviews, a woman named Anna Hayes saw you and started yelling. Travers and two other guys surrounded you and… It was bad."

"I don't… know anyone by that name. Why was she yelling at me?"

"Because you looked a lot like the guy… the guy who raped her."

Tim stared at him, his eyes widening in horror. "She thought… But I didn't. I swear, Tony, I-"

"We know, Tim. We knew you couldn't do something like that, even without a DNA test."

"But they _did_ a DNA test…"

"Yeah, and it cleared you. We also found that a serial rapist was working in the area. We've been trying to find him and last night we finally managed to catch him. He's never going to hurt anyone again."

"Guess it's kind of… a silver lining."

Tony stared at him in shock for a minute before he finally let out a chuckle of disbelief. "Only you, McGee, could see it that way."

"No. Not really."

"Right."

"What happened to the woman? Anna... Hayes?"

"Well, since she also tried to shoot you and she assaulted Bishop to get her gun, she's spending the next few months in a psych ward," Tony replied, the anger he still apparently harbored towards the woman surprising him.

"Is Ellie OK?"

"She's fine. She helped us take the guy down. Went in undercover."

"Oh. Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't anyone… tell me this before? Why keep it from me?"

"Because you almost _died_ , Tim, and we… I guess no one wanted to add to the load of crap you got dealt. We were protecting you."

"OK." He gave Tony a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, you look pretty worn out. Want me to leave?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Nah. We can hang out and watch… whatever this is you're watching."

"Thanks."

"No problem, Tim."

Tony reached over and nudged the volume up a notch before settling back to watch the show. After a few minutes Tony glanced over, expecting Tim to be asleep but the younger man was watching the screen with a thoughtful smile on his face. Tony watched until he was almost ready to fall asleep, but then the fishermen's latest catch drew his attention and his eyes widened in horror.

"Damn, that is one _ugly_ fish!"

Tim just laughed.

TBC...

A/N: Virtual cookies to anyone who can name the show they're watching ;)

And on to the epilogue.


	9. Epilogue

Worst Nightmare

Epilogue

A/N: Contains spoilers for _House Rules_.

Multicolored lights twinkled from within the depths of the apartment as Tim opened the door and slowly stepped inside. Such a sight would normally have cheered him, but today nothing was going to penetrate the aura of sadness that surrounded him.

He locked the door and dropped his apartment keys on the stand before advancing into the dim space. He ran a hand lightly over his typewriter, an instrument he had used heavily in the past couple of days before continuing on to his bedroom. He removed his black suit jacket and carefully hung it in the closet before removing the matching trousers, black tie, and white dress shirt and hanging them in the closet as well.

After donning a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt he pulled his robe from the hook on the door and slipped his arms through the sleeves, wincing slightly as his left elbow twinged in protest of the movement. It didn't usually bother him, but the cold weather didn't tend to agree with the once-injured limb.

He checked his phone, noting the calls from his team that he would have to return sooner than later, and settled into his chair to read the collection of mail Abby had picked up for him while he was away for the funeral.

Tim sighed. He still had a hard time believing that the Admiral was gone.

After the assault that had nearly killed him and the months of recovery that had followed, Tim and his father had, at least on some level, reconnected. They had argued, since both of them were still as stubborn as always, but they had also started talking more. At first it had been the Admiral doing to talking while Tim recovered his ability to speak. He had shared stories with Tim of his younger days, including a few short but treasured stories of Tim's birth mother. Later on, Tim had shared his own stories of his job and his team, and the Admiral had startled Tim one day by declaring that his mother would have been proud of him.

And finally, just a few short weeks before John McGee succumbed to the cancer than he knew would end his life long before it did, Tim's father had admitted that he was proud of his son as well.

When Tim's father had decided to stop treatment, he felt betrayed. He argued, telling his father how hard he had fought to return, and why couldn't the Admiral fight just as hard. Finally they had come to an understanding, a reasoning built from the same groundwork as Tim's living will: the desire not to linger on in pain while those around him suffered through watching him slowly fade away.

After his father had passed, Tim had written a letter which he had slipped in the casket before it was sealed. It was his last gift to his father, an acknowledgement of how the rules, both Gibbs' and his father's, had shaped him into the man his father had come to know during the last months of his life.

Tim sighed. One chapter of his life was over. There really wasn't anything he could do except keep the memories, and maybe one day pass them on.

He started to sort through the mail and paused when he came across an official looking letter. He pulled out his phone and did a quick search of the name on the return address, surprised to find it was a small law firm. He opened the letter and started to scan through it, a sudden flood of anxiety overwhelming him when he read the name of the person the letter concerned: someone whose face he couldn't remember, but whose actions had led to months of pain, frustration, and nightmares that he tried to hide as much as he could.

He read through the letter three times, the request within those neatly typed lines tearing at his heart and his conscience. After debating back and forth for nearly an hour on whether or not he should honor the request, and finally reaching a decision, he pulled out his phone again and dialed a familiar number.

"Boss? It's Tim...McGee. I'm...I'm OK, but Boss, I… I need a favor."

XXX

Gibbs pulled the car into a parking space and killed the engine before turning to his passenger.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Tim nodded. "I have a feeling that if I don't do this now, it's just going to keep eating at me, and… I just want to get it over with."

"Understood. You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Thanks, Boss, but I think I need to do this on my own."

"Alright. I'll be waiting. Call me if there's a problem."

"I will."

Tim climbed out of the car and slowly walked towards the brick edifice that sat at the edge of the parking lot. He climbed the steps to the front door and stepped inside, his eyes adjusting to the muted lighting within. He walked to the front desk, showed his ID and explained the reason for his visit.

"They're already waiting for you, Agent McGee." She pointed to the elevator. "Third floor, second hallway on your right, last door on the left."

"Thank you."

He followed her instruction and soon he was standing outside a room with a small square glass window in the door. The glass was protected by criss-crossing metal bars within the pane itself. He knocked and a soft voice told him to enter.

When he pushed the door open he saw two women seated at a table, with one chair sitting opposite. One woman was middle aged with streaks of grey in her dark hair, and the other was young, no more than twenty, with long dark hair and brown eyes that widened as he entered the room.

The older woman rose to greet him. "Agent McGee?" He nodded. "Muriel Hodge. Thank you for coming. I imagine this was a difficult decision for you."

"It wasn't an easy one."

She smiled thinly. "Of course. My client has promised that this will be her only contact with you and after today she will make no attempt to disturb you."

"OK."

"I won't leave the room, but I will stay out of your way. I'll just be over in the corner. There are guards right outside the door. Understood?"

Tim nodded and slowly lowered himself into the chair opposite the young woman. He studied her for several moments but he still had no sense of familiarity.

"Anna?" He finally asked. "Anna Hayes?"

She nodded, her big brown eyes fixed on his face, searching for some sign of recognition that never appeared. "You really don't remember me, do you?"

Tim shook his head. "I have no memories of...that day."

She bit her lip and nodded, dropping her gaze as a faint blush tinted her cheeks.

"Your advocate's letter indicated that you wanted to speak to me."

"Yes. I did."

"Why?"

"I wanted...I wanted to apologize. For what happened to you. I know it's not enough, it will _never_ be enough to make up for… everything." She looked up at him. "They tell me the man who...raped me was caught. That it was your people, your team that caught him." Tim nodded. "Thank you."

"I didn't...really have any part in that."

She winced. "I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't...I should have just left, called someone to tell them I saw...the man that...but I didn't. I didn't see him, just you."

"Do I really look like than man who attacked you?" Tim asked. He had never been allowed to see the file on the rapist, and after some consideration he had decided he really didn't want to.

"Yes, but not exactly. If I had been thinking clearly, then I would have seen it differently, seen the differences, but...I wasn't. I didn't."

"How soon after your attack did you see me?"

"Almost a month."

"So it was still pretty fresh in your mind."

"Yeah."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like. I'm guessing it was pretty horrible."

She gave a watery chuckle and wiped a sleeve across her face. "Yeah…"

"So we both experienced something we wish had never happened." She nodded. "But there's no changing the fact that it did." She shook her head. "And we're both… still healing." He raised his left arm. "Still hurts. Some days are worse than others." She nodded again. "But eventually...it's not going to hurt so much anymore. We'll remember the pain, but...we'll learn to live with it, and we won't let it stop us from living."

She nodded again before managing to meet his gaze. "Thank you." She glanced at Muriel who gave her an encouraging smile. "I...I'll be here for a few more months. When I get out, Mrs. Hodge has arranged for me to go back to college. Community college, until I can get my grades back up. They kinda took a nosedive after I… But I'll bring them back up. I'm going to study psychology, and then go to law school. I want to be an advocate. I want to help people like me."

"That sounds like a good goal to have."

"Thanks. Can _you_ still help people?" She blushed when she saw his expression. "I mean, can you still do your job? I didn't take that away from you, did I?"

"No, you didn't. I'm not quite where I was before all this happened, but I'm getting there. It's just going to take a little more time."

"I'm glad. That you haven't lost it, I mean."

He smiled. "I knew what you meant."

"OK. Thank you for coming here today. It really does mean a lot to me and I really hope it wasn't too difficult for you."

"I've had worse days," he replied, his smile blunting the pain of that remark.

She snorted softly. "Me, too."

He rose from his chair. "Goodbye, Anna. And good luck."

"Thank you, Agent McGee. Good luck to you, too."

He turned at walked out the door and soon found himself back at the elevator. After making the return trip to the lobby he walked out the front doors and down the steps to the parking lot where Gibbs waited.

"You OK?" Gibbs asked as he climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door.

"I've been better," he replied before turning to Gibbs with a slight smile on his face. "But I've also been worse."

Gibbs just nodded and started the car. As they drove away, Tim thought about what he had said to Anna, about putting the past behind, letting go, and healing. Tim knew he still had some of his own healing to do, and this trip, as part of that journey that he knew he had to make, didn't seem quite as daunting as it had before.

It was a start.

The End.

* * *

Yes, you guessed it, they were watching _River Monsters_ :)

My next project is a sequel to _Whirlwind_ that I'm writing for the LJ ncis_bang. It won't be posted until October, though. In the meantime, I'll be working on finishing a couple WIPs.

Thanks for reading!


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